Coaldale Hospital Gets Cat Scanner On Oct. 9 Briefly

Coaldale Hospital on Oct. 9 will begin operating a computerized axial tomography (CAT) scanner that will be shared with other state hospitals.

Hospital Administrator Robert H. Morris said the mobile unit was scheduled to begin operation Wednesday, but a delay in completing the contract resulted in the change.

The unit will be provided by Mediq Management Services, Pennsauken, N.J., and will operate in a passageway constructed at the rear of the hospital all day Tuesdays and Thursday afternoons.

Morris said the unit provides three-dimensional pictures of a body part, enabling doctors to diagnose problems better. He said the machine often replaces exploratory surgery and other procedures that are considerably more complicated and uncomfortable. He said the CAT scanner is a painless process.